Alberta

Alberta, the westernmost of Canada's three prairie provinces, shares many physical features with its neighbours to the east, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The Rocky Mountains form the southern portion of Alberta's western boundary with British Columbia.

Alberta is the westernmost of the Prairie provinces of Canada, bounded on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Saskatchewan, on the south by the state of Montana, and on the southwest and west by British Columbia. Alberta is a wholly inland territory.

The province is called Sunny Alberta because it has more hours of sunshine a year than any other province. Alberta entered the Dominion with Saskatchewan on September 1, 1905, as the eighth and ninth provinces. With its extensive, fertile prairie lands, Alberta long had an economy dominated by agriculture. Since the 1950s, however, mineral extraction has become a leading sector of the economy. Alberta is now Canada's largest producer of petroleum and natural gas.

The province is named for Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, who was the wife of a Canadian governor-general and a daughter of Queen Victoria. Ralph Klein has eliminated the province's deficit since he took office, at considerable cost to its social safety net. Calgary, a city quite similar to Denver, is home to the annual Calgary Stampede. Other sites not to miss in Alberta include the West Edmonton Mall with its 800 stores, 19 movie theatres, 110 eateries, and a full sized hockey rink; Canada Olympic Park which hosted the 1988 Winter Olympic Games; and the series of national parks along its western borders collectively known as the Rocky Mountain Range National Park System.

Banff National Park

The Canadian province of Alberta is rich in natural beauty. The Rocky Mountains provide a spectacular environment for outdoor recreation and exploration. These riders trek through Banff National Park, the country's oldest national park, which is famous for its mountain scenery and pristine lakes.